Improvement in sewing-machines



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELIAS HOWE, JR., OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT |N SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification forming,r part of lLetters Patent No. 4,760, dated September 10, 112346.

or other articles requiring to be sewed; and

l do herebydeclarethat thefollowing is a full and exact description thereof.

ln sewing a scam with my machine twc threads arel employed, one of which threads is carried through theeloth by means of a curved needle, the pointed end of which is to pass through said cloth. rlhe needle used has thev c ve that is to receive the thread within asmall distance-say, an eight-h of an inclu-ot' its inner or pointed end. The other or outer end yoi' the needle is held by an arm that vibrat-es on a pivot or joint pin, and the curvature of the needle is such as to correspond with the lengt-h of the arm as its radius. XVhen the thread is carried through the clot-l1, which may be done to the distance of about tlnee-fourt-hs of an inch, the thread will be, stretched above t-he curved needle, something in the manner of a bow-string, leaving aslnall open space between the two. A small shuttle carrying a bobbin filled with sill; or thread `is then made to pass entirely through this open space between the needle and the thread which it carries, and when the shuttle is returned, which is done by means of a picker-stad` or shuttledriver, the thread which was carried in-by the needle is surrounded by that received from the shuttle, and as the needle is drawn out it forces that which was received from the shuttlc into the body of the cloth, and as this op eration is repeated 'a seam is formed which has on each side of the cloth the same appear-- ance as that givenhy stitching, with this pe- -culiarity, that the thread shown on one side of the cloth is exclusively that which was given out by the needle, and the thread seen 'on the other side is exclusively that which was metallic. plate from which these wires projecthas numerous holes -through it, which answer the purpose of rack-teeth in enabling the plate to be moved forward by mea-ns of a pinion as t-he stitches are taken. The distance t0 which said plate is moved, and consequently the length ofthe stitches, may" be regulated at pleasure.

ln the accompanying` drawinfgs, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine; Fig. 2, an end elevation thereof, and Fig. 3 a top view. The other iignresreprescnt sections and parts` in detail, which will be presently explained.

A A is t-he bed or base of the machine, and B B stalulards'rising therefrom, which sustain the main shall; and other parts of the apparatus.

C C is the main shaft, which carries the cams that operate the needle, the shuttle-drivers, and other parts ofthe machine. D is a ilywheel, and E a winch, onsaid shalt.

F is a bobbin on which the silk is wound that is to supply the needle.

(l is the needle-arm, that carries the curved needle a. end elevation, Fig. 2. The thread from the bobbin F passes round a small friction-roller, I, or round a smooth groove in the situation ot' sa-id roller. then up through the eye of the needle at c, which eye is situated near to the nce- (lle-point. d d, that project from the metallic plate H, which I will call the "bester-plate.7 This plate is shown'most distinct-ly in the top view, Fig. XVhen the thread e is carried through the cloth by the needle a, the upper portion of said thread will be above the needle and will allow the point of the shuttle (to be presently described) to pass between them. To enable itto enter readily, the needle, after entering` the cloth, is immediately drawn back .to a short distance, which opens the loop slightly. The cam which operates the needle-arm being so formed as to cause such drawing back, the shuttle will,'in order to give itself` the necessary room, draw a portion of the thread which had been given ont by the needle through the clotlnsaid thread having been left in a loop or slack state for that purpose. Y Fig. 4 represents a part of the same portion of the machine that is showifiiphig. 2, but' with the. needle-arm down and'with the needle passed through the clot-h. 7' is tl|e`cloth`,'(scen This is seen most distinctly in the` The cloth is stuck on the points a top view of this box with the siuttle K within it. This shuttle is in its general construction similar to the larger shuttle used in weaving,

'and its spool g is capable of containing'an ordinary skein of silk. The shuttle-box I vis.

represented as made convex on its under side, by which it is adapted to admit a baster-plate that may be in a curved form, although for most purposes a straight bastcr-plate may be lise-d. Tile pieces marked it' are light springs above the shuttle, which bear slightly upon it' and serve to steady its motion. The shuttledrivers Work on joint-pins, as shown at j, Fi g. 2, there being a'correspouding fixture for the drivers on the other side.

L, Fig. 3, is the eainthat operates the shuttie-drivers, on the upper ends of which drivers there may be friction-rollers j j. The cam L acts upon the shuttle drivers alternately.

M, Fig. 5, is a sliding` box fitted into the shuttle-box and moved back and forth in the rear of the shuttle by one of the drivers, and.

N is a corresponding sliding piece moved by the other driver and adapted to the fore or pointed end of the shuttle. The needle-ar1u is attached to the rock-'shaft O, Fig. l, which vibrates on a center pin or pivots, and from this shaft rises an arm, I. Ythat carries a pin v and friction-roller, k, which enters a space, Z, in thecam Q,which space operates .as a zigzag groove, and is of course so formed as to givethe proper vibration to the needle'arm. There is a groove or narrow channel made across the bottom of the shuttle-box to receive the ncedle, in order that its upper part may be even with said bottoni and allow the shuttle to pass freely over it.

The baster-plate H, Fig. 3, which receives the cloth to be sewed, is furnished with a row of smallholes, m m, drilled at a regula-r distance from each other, serving the purpose of rack-teeth, and into these round pinion-teeth enter for the purpose of carrying the plate forward to a proper distance at every stitch.

Fig. 6 shows the principal portion of the feeding apparatus as it would appear were a vertical sectio'nmade through the machine in the line w a: of Fig. 3. R is a cam on the calnshaft C, that vibrates an arm, S, carrying a feedingclaw, T, that takes into a ratchetwheel, U, on the shaft V, which shaft crosses the' bed A of the machine, its fore end being seen at V, Fig. 1. This shaft has on it near its fore end the pinion that carries the pins or teeth that take into the holes m in the baster and cause it to advance between every stitch. The length of the stitch may be regulated by regulating the lplay of the arm S, and this is in place.

effected by the regulating-,screw n, Fig. 3,'that moves a pin back and forth that serves as a stop to said arm. The pin is represented by the`dot o, Fig. 6, and is seen at o, Figs. 2 and 3. p isa spring that retains the'ratchetwhecl iu place as the claw is taking a new hold. q is a spring for holding the arm S against the cam.

In sewing with this machine, the thread from the bobbin F is passed over a notch, r, Fig. l, at the upper end ofthe ncedle-arm,a1id is returned through the notch r. It then passes down iu front of said arm, then around the roller b, and through the needle-eye.. To regulate the giving out of the thread from the bobbiu, friction is made on -it by the semicircular clasp s, that is made to press on it by a spring, t, regulated by a tempering.- screw. Before the needle passes through the cloth the thread, which cxtends from the needle-eye to said cloth, is raised 01 drawn up by a lifting-piu, so as to form the loop or slack, which is subsequently to be drawn in by thc passing of the shuttle between the thread and the needle.

W, Figs. 1 and -2, is a lifting-rod, 'from the side of which projects the lifting-piu a. The lifting-rod is attached at its upper cud to a crank-arm, e, which works ou a shaft, w, and this shaft is made to vibra-tc by means of the cam w on the cam-shaft. .This cam operaties ou a frictiolrroller, y, ou a short arm on the inner end of the shaft 1r. Theliftiug -rod stands in front of a plate, X, Figs. l and 2, which is attached at its upper cud to the frame of the machine, and between the lower end of this plate -aud the shuttle-box the cloth is to pass. The plate X is furnished with a hingejoint at its upper end, in order thatits distance from the shuttle-box may be regulated to suitcloth of different thicknesses.

Y, Fig. l, is a set-screw, by which it is held rod proceeds a guidc-pin, e, that moves the lifting-rod laterally, so as to govern the acl ion of the lifting-pin a. This guide-pill works against guide-pieces a b', affixed ou the front of' the plate X. The dotted lines show the groove formed by the pieces a b, along which the guide-pin is to pass.

spring around its shaft, or in any other conA venient mode; In the posit-ion iu which the, apparatus is shown in Fig. I the lifting-pin lis partially raised, and will have lifted the thread. In raising it the guide-piu passes through the groove between a b, (shown by dott-ed lines,`) and when at the upper end of this groove the needle-arm acts and carries the needle through the cloth. On. the side ot' the needle-arm there is a projecting piece, c', the inclined edge of which, coming in contact with the liftingrod, pushes iig-laterally over the angular point ofthe piece d, andthe crankarm u descending at this moment, the liftingpin is withdrawn from the thread, which is thereby left slack to a sufficient extent for the purpose designated.

From the back part of the lifting- Thc lifting-rod is' carried toward the piece b by means oi'a spiral' drawing the shuttle-thread firmly into the body ofthe cloth and making a perfect seam, would draw'a portion of it from the spool and cause` it to pass entirely through said cloth.

In Fig. 1, f/ is the ont-er end .of a lever which is made to rise atthe proper moment, and to clip the thread between it and the upper edge oi' the slotf. This lever is seen in Fig. 2, its i'ulernnl being at h.' The rod 'i' serves to depress the inner end of said lever and to raise its outer end, the eamj on the cani-shaftl performing this ofliee.

The sliding box 'M does not bear directly against the rear end oi' the shuttle-box, but has a piu, m', proiceting from its fore end, which pin nets :Ha-inst the shuttle. The pin m constitutes'a part of' a small lever shown separately in Fig. S. The part n' of this lever is received within a suitable slot i'n the slid.- iug box M, and it turns on a fulcrunrpin, p. W hen the shuttle has passed through the loop formed by the needle-th1e:nl,itis received upon the pin m', and, as the needle is retracted the .i lirez-nl will be drawn tautnpon said pin. V At this time the head ot' an adjustable springs', bears against the end n of the small lever, and the force of its pressure has io be overcome before the thread escapes from the pin, which it docs by dmwing over against ihe power oi' the spring. As the loop then escapes, itwill (haw up the iilliug-thread from the shultle'iirmly against the cloth and cui.- bed it within it. The head ofthe spring Z passes through a mori-isc iu ihe shuttle-box, as shown bythe doi ted lines. 0" is an adjusting-screw by which the iorce oi' the spring Z um) be regulated.

Having-thus fully described the manner in which I construct my machine for sewing seams, and shown the operation thereof, what I claim' thereinas new, and desire to secure by in the manner set forth,between the needle and the thread which it carries under a combination and arrangement of parts substantially the same with that described.

2.l The lifting of the thread that `passes through the needle-eye by means of the liftingrod W', for the purpose of forming a loop' of loose thread that is to be subsequently drawn in by the passage of the shuttle, as herein fully described, said lft-ingrod being furnished with a lifting piu, fu, and governed in its motions by the guidc-piecesand other devices, arranged and operating substantially as described.

3. The holding of the thread that is given out hy the shuttle, so as to prevent its unwinding from the shuttlc-bobbin after the shuttle has passed through the loop,said thread being held by means of the lever or clippingpieee g', as herein made known, or iu any other manner that is substantially thesame in its operation and result.

4. The manner of arranging aud combining the small lever m n with the sliding box M, in combination with the spring-piece Z, for

the purpose of tightening the stitch as theneedlc is retracted, as described.

rlhe holding of the cloth to be sewed by the use of a bastcr-plate fnrnishedwth points for' that purpose, and with holes enabling it to operate as a .rack in the manuel set forth, thereby carrying the cloth forward and dispensing altogether with the necessity of basting the parts together.

- ELIAS HOWE. Jn. Witnesses:

'Duos'. P. Joxrs.

Gnomi t: FisHi-m. 

